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⑤ Linked documents and ⑥ Audit Summary

Two smaller panels covering attachments and the closing summary.

Written by Caim Hermoso

Who this is for: Needs Manage My Audit Templates.

⑤ Linked Documents

Setting

Default

Effect

Include Linked Documents

On

Lets auditors attach supporting files to the audit as a whole

Switch off for short templates where document attachment is not needed. Note this is separate from evidence attached to individual findings — linked documents belong to the audit, evidence belongs to a finding.

⑥ Audit Summary

Setting

Default

Effect

Include Audit Summary

Off

When on, the audit ends with a narrative summary section

Limitations

Off

Adds an optional Limitations box below the summary, for anything that restricted the audit

Auditee Response

Off

Adds an optional Auditee Response box below the summary, for what the auditee said about the conclusions

Include Audit Summary is the main switch. Limitations and Auditee Response each add an optional box below the summary; both print in the report when filled in, and neither ever blocks publishing — see Recording limitations and the auditee's response. There is no separate score or risk summary setting — what the auditor sees alongside the summary comes from the Score and Risk Rating columns you chose in ③ Checklist Columns.

The dependency warning. Switch Include Audit Summary on while the Score column is off and the panel warns you:

The Audit Summary shows scored outcomes, but this checklist has no Score column. Turn on Score in Checklist Columns, or the summary will carry no scores.

Turn on Score in ③ Checklist Columns and the warning clears. You can publish with the warning showing — the summary simply carries no score.

Switch Include Audit Summary on for anything a manager or certification body will read. The summary is where the auditor states the overall conclusion — and a report of findings without a conclusion is much harder to act on.

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